Crimson and Clover (previously deleted)
by Sensitive.hoe
Summary: Alice Vorso is the new administrative assistant to the CEO of Stark Industries. She's clumsy, awkward and engaged to a guy who won't ever marry her. She literally stumbles her way into the heart of the notoriously grumpy Dr. Bruce Banner. Is there more to her than meets the eye? Could she be the very thing he's been searching for all these years? (Written by Dresupi)
1. Chapter 1

1\. Chapter 1

**A/N at the end :) Song for this chapter is 'Middle of Nowhere' by Hot Hot Heat**

**Alice**

"I cannot believe this," Alice sighed, throwing aside the third and last pair of pantyhose she had tried on. "They are ALL torn?" She sighed again.

_Maybe I should wear pants._

She waded through the piles of clothing on her bedroom floor, and pried open the closet door, only to be impeded from opening it further or even closing it completely. Upon closer inspection, she discovered one of her blouses had gotten stuck under the door.

"Damnit," she whispered. She knelt to try and clear a path for the door.

"20 MINUTES TIL GO TIME, BABE!" she heard from the other room.

"ZEKE, I NEED HELP!" she called back.

Her fiancé peeked his head in the bedroom door, his short black hair still wet from his shower. White button up and black slacks on, he was looping his tie around his neck. He entered the room and studied her, brow knitted. Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I won't lie, Stark would definitely hire you if you walked in like that." He gestured to her 'outfit': a grey camisole and white panties. Alice smirked sarcastically before letting her breath out in a huff.

"No, really, what am I gonna do? All my pantyhose ripped, should I go with pants?" she asked, desperately, her Southern accent getting thicker the more upset she became. Zeke crossed the room to the mirror and began tying his tie.

"Well, you could go sans pantyhose…"he trailed off, "or you could go back in time and trim your toe nails so you don't shred your nylons with your wildcat claws," he teased, a smirk forming on his face.

Alice stared at him, hands on her hips.

He formed a claw with his free hand, and growled softly, imitating a wildcat.

Alice pursed her lips and squinted up at him, standing at over 6 feet, he towered over her 5 foot nothing frame.

"Zeke…Help! Actual help or input would be nice. I haven't shaved my legs, so I can't go without pantyhose, lest someone mistake me for a Sasquatch."

Zeke chuckled at that. "I reckon where you're going, they wouldn't find that unusual," he drawled, his own Southern upbringing bubbling to the surface. He tightened the tie, measuring the ends; he still wasn't good at tying one, even after 4 years of working for SHIELD and wearing one on every single one of those working days. Alice stepped in to help him fix it. "You could fulfil every single fantasy I've ever had, and wear thigh highs," he waggled his eyebrows comically, while looking directly over her head at his reflection. Alice crinkled her nose.

"I wanted the pantyhose because they were control top," she tightened the knot and stepped back so he could admire it. "They would help hide my belly." She turned to the side and stuck her practically flat stomach out, rubbing it for emphasis.

"What belly?" asked Zeke, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Alice turned to walk away, but he grabbed her hand and slid to his knees in front of her. He wrapped his long arms around her waist, resting his head on her stomach. "This belly? This one here?" He placed a kiss right above her navel. "Hon, your tummy's so flat, I could balance a bowling ball on it." He smiled up at her, his crooked smile never failed to melt her heart. It widened to a full toothy grin, his blue eyes sparkling. He abruptly blew a raspberry on her stomach and laughed when she pushed him back onto the floor.

"Way to ruin the moment, jack-ass," she said, smiling despite herself. "Fine, thigh-highs it is. Gird your loins," she winked.

He scoffed, "Gird yours, darlin', and promise me you won't take them off until I come home this evening." He flashed his most debonair smile and waggled his eyebrows again.

She walked over to the dresser, rolling her eyes at him in the mirror. "No promises, I hate these things."

She fished a pair out of the top drawer, checking them to be sure they were a match. She slowly rolled them up her legs, being careful, so they didn't suffer the same fate as the discarded nylons in the corner. She took out her new skirt, pencil, charcoal grey, and her green cap-sleeve button up. She put the shirt on first, then the skirt, tucking the shirt into the skirt as she went. Not really her style, she had a more neo-bohemian/hippie style, but since she'd come to New York, she'd dulled it down to jeans and a bright flowing skirt here and there. Zeke had convinced her to drop it all together for this interview. He was convinced that her 'juvenile' style decisions were what was holding her back. She was inclined to agree with him.

"There," she said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She grabbed the black heels she planned to wear, and made her way out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.

"Hair up, or down?" she asked, gesturing to her wavy auburn tresses, which hung midway down her back.

"Up, definitely, looks more professional," Zeke conceded.

"Right," Alice agreed.

She closed the bathroom door to finish her preparations. She brushed out her hair, and twisted it up into a French twist. It was the only up-do she could accomplish alone. She secured it with a tortoise shell comb and curled the few tendrils that escaped with her finger.

_Alright, _she thought, _now make-up._

Powder on her pale, freckled skin, followed by eyeliner, mascara and a touch of eye shadow. Purple, to complement her green eyes. Finally, she applied a dab of clear lip gloss.

She inspected her reflection in the full-length bathroom mirror. She sighed. She looked like a little girl playing dress up. The skirt was tailored, so it fit nicely, but the whole outfit was too confining, it made her stand differently. Wearing her hair up gave her face a pinched look. The heels were a mistake, she could tell that now, but she didn't have anything else to wear, nothing that would work with the skirt. She was altogether too clumsy to be allowed to wear heels this high.

"Done," she called. "Time?" She opened the bathroom door, walking into the living room. She placed her reading glasses in their case and tucked them away in her messenger bag.

"6 minutes," answered Zeke. "Want me to drive you?"

"No, I'd rather be alive for the interview," she paused, "What's the complete job title again? I need to know exactly what I'm applying for."

"Um…Public Liaison/Personal Assistant…" he muttered the last part.

"What?!" Alice exclaimed. "Why didn't I know about the assistant part of that title?"

"Al, I only left it out because I knew you wouldn't go for it if you knew," Zeke said apologetically.

"You're damn right I wouldn't!" Alice retorted. "What, so I'll be a glorified receptionist? I'm glad you told me before I got to the interview and made a fool of myself thinking I was applyin' for a PR position."

"C'mon, Al…I went through a LOT to get you this interview. It's more pay, better benefits, great connections, even you have to admit the perks are better," Zeke pleaded.

Alice flattened her lips into a line and sighed, slipping on her shoes, "Yes, I'll admit that the perks are better, but it's STILL the same job I've had for the past 4 years."

"Well, at least we know you can do it," he chided.

Alice ignored the last statement and spun around. "Okay, well, how do I look? Professional? Intelligent?"

Zeke looked her up and down, pursing his lips and raising his eyebrows. "You look like a sexy librarian."

Alice blinked twice. "Thanks for the objectification."

"What?" he pouted, "It's a compliment! You're hot! VERY Professional. Aren't you glad you listened to me about that skirt?"

"I guess so, it's definitely more…tight than any of my others…" she pulled on it uncomfortably.

"Your others make you look like a hippie. A hairy-pits hippie."

"Okay, that's enough, the others were 'me', this one just makes me look uptight."

"Professional women are uptight."

"I'm not uptight."

"No, but you could act like it sometimes."

Alice sighed and kissed him on the cheek. "Love you."

"Me too, babe." He placed a peck on her lips.

She walked to the door, grabbing her keys off the door as she left. She walked down the carpeted hallway to the elevator. She hurried as fast as her 4-inch heels would allow. She mashed the button on the elevator multiple times. She absently wondered why people did this kind of thing; it didn't seem to be hurrying the elevator along at all. She mentally shrugged and continued to mash the button as hard and fast as she could. When the doors finally opened, she hit the 'L' button for Lobby.

Once on the ground floor, she resumed her quick pace past the mailboxes, her heels clicking on the tile floor. She exited her building, nodding to the doorman, and raising her hand for a taxi. She'd briefly entertained the thought of walking to Stark Tower, but dismissed the idea just as quickly. As clumsy as she was prone to be, she didn't need to be tempting the fates any more than usual. Especially today.

A cab pulled up, and she got in.

"Stark Tower," she said. An address was not necessary because the building was as large as life. And in New York City, that was saying something. The cab driver reset the counter, and they were off.

"Job Interview?" asked the driver.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Alice asked, smiling.

"Oh, I dunno, you just look nervous. Hopeful. That's usually how people look when they're on their way to interview for their dream job," the cabbie replied.

"I don't know about 'dream job', but it's a different job," said Alice.

The driver looked at her in the rear view mirror. "Hey, working at Stark Tower would be a dream job for a lot of people."

Alice smiled thoughtfully. "I suppose it would be, and if I'd gotten this interview 4 years ago, I might be more excited. As it is, I thought I was moving on, moving up, but it turns out I'm moving sideways, know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I getcha," answered the driver.

There was an awkward silence for the rest of the 20 odd minute ride. A short trip for NYC. At least this job would be closer to home than her other job was. An apartment in the Upper West Side was not cheap, so truth be told, Alice was hoping for a successful interview. She and Zeke split everything down the middle, and he made considerably more than her, being an agent of SHIELD. That was as much as she knew about his job, though. He worked long days, longer nights, and sometimes didn't come home for days at a time. There was never a warning, never a sign that he'd be away. She'd just taken to good faith that he'd always find his way back to her. It still made her nervous, though.

Alice checked her make-up in her compact mirror, made sure she had copies of her resume in her bag, and cleaned a fresh scuff off her new shoes.

"Well, here you are," said the driver.

She took out her wallet and paid the driver. "Keep the change," she said, closing the door.

She turned and stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of Stark Tower. She looked up.

_This building is MASSIVE. _She chuckled to herself. _Tony Stark. Compensating, much?_

She trained her gaze back down to the front entrance. She focused on the doors leading to the atrium and lobby.

_Great. Revolving doors, my old friends._

She remembered her very first experience with revolving doors. Picture a Tiny Alice, only 4 years old. She got stuck in one for 5 minutes before her grandfather rescued her. She smiled fondly at the memory.

She thought about what Grandpa would say. He was so disappointed when she'd dropped out of the music program in college. But, Zeke was right, she'd been big shit back in Southmeade, TN, but once she stepped into the college environment, she was one of a million. PR and management was the best route for her. She'd excelled quickly. Never mind that she'd had to give up a dream job in LA to come to New York with Zeke. Her current job at the publishing firm left much to be desired. She'd worked her ass off to see others promoted before her. Stark Industries would definitely be a step up, if she got the job.

She started working her way towards the revolving doors, and then saw, to her delight, a set of normal doors to the side of the revolving doors. She smiled; her day was starting to look up already. She walked inside.

Remembering the instructions Zeke had given her, she crossed the lobby to the reception desk. She smiled warmly at the receptionist, a brown haired man, who was impeccably groomed.

_Face of the company, _She thought to herself.

"Alice Vorso, for Virginia Potts."

The receptionist was in the middle of stirring his coffee. "What time is your appointment, sweetie?" he asked brightly.

"9:30," replied Alice.

"Okay, you're a little early, but I'll call up and see if she's ready for you."

"Thank you," replied Alice.

She walked over to one of the arm chairs nearby and perched on the edge of it, messenger bag in her lap. She looked it over, wishing she'd cleaned it up a bit. It was the same brown leather bag she'd gotten for a going away gift when she moved to New York. She looked around the posh lobby. It seemed sparsely decorated for the lobby of such an important building.

"Ms. Vorso?" the receptionist called. Alice stood up and straightened her bag, walking over to the desk. "Ms. Potts will see you now. Just follow this gentleman here, and he'll escort you up to the office suites," the receptionist gestured to the foreboding figure approaching the desk.

His head was completely bald, and he wore the stereotypical black suit, black tie and dark sunglasses. "Really, Johnson? Where's your name tag?" He gestured to the receptionist's shirt.

"Sorry, Mr. Hogan, I forgot again."

'Mr. Hogan' puffed and shook his head. "This way, ma'am, follow me," he directed to Alice. He set a quick pace. "Hogan, Head of Security," he nodded curtly, clearly not expecting a reply. Alice supplied one anyway.

"Pleased to meet you."

This man demanded respect in his very stance. He stalked to the elevators, placed his thumb on the pad outside of one. The doors opened, they went inside, and the doors shut again.

"Identify yourselves," a voice said, it sounded male. And British.

"JARVIS, it's Hogan," said Hogan. He looked expectantly at Alice.

"Oh! Um…Alice Vorso," she squeaked, looking around.

"Ms. Potts is expecting you, Ms. Vorso," said the voice.

Alice felt the elevator start to move. She took several deep breaths to calm herself. She snuck a quick peek at Hogan, who was standing stoically, unmoving. She cut her eyes back front and fiddled with the strap on her bag. The elevator dinged.

"Office Suites," the voice said. "Good luck, Ms. Vorso."

"Thank you…?" Alice faltered.

"JARVIS," supplied Hogan.

"Thank you, JARVIS," said Alice.

The doors opened, Hogan exited first, and turned to the left. Alice followed. Hogan walked to the end of the hall, where there were a set of double glass doors. He opened one for her and followed her inside. There was a large waiting area with black leather couches, and a desk off to the right side. There was a large glass office on the opposite wall. Seated at the desk was a slender red head, who was talking on the phone. She chewed on the end of a pen before scribbling something down on the pad in front of her. She was wearing a tan wrap dress, which hit just above her knee; her hair was pulled back from her face, but left loose in the back.

As Hogan led Alice towards the desk, the redhead looked up and smiled warmly. She held up one finger, asking them silently to wait. Hogan stopped just short of the desk, and in her zeal to inspect the waiting area of the office, Alice ran into his back. He turned his head to the side, stifling a chuckle, and Alice, embarrassed, backed up, and looked at her shoes. She tried to hide how her face reddened.

The redhead ended her phone call, and made one more note on the pad. She stood up, smiling, and extended her hand towards Alice.

"Julia Morgan. Current assistant and public liaison to the C.E.O."

Alice took her hand. "Alice Vorso, applicant for assistant and public liaison to the C.E.O."

Julia chuckled, "Very nice. You're quick, that's a good thing. I'll go tell Ms. Potts that you're here. We'll both be interviewing you today, if that's alright." It was a statement, not a question.

_Like I have much choice in the matter…_Alice thought.

"If you'll just have a seat here, "Julia said to Alice, and then turned to Hogan, "and that's all we needed, Happy. Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Ms. Morgan," Hogan replied, turning to leave.

_Happy?! _Thought Alice incredulously. _Must be one of those opposite nicknames, like calling the tall guy 'Tiny'._

She went to sit on one of the chairs but she'd barely seated herself before Julia was back.

"We're ready for you, Ms. Vorso."

Alice got up, straightened her skirt, smoothing out the creases. She followed Julia into the big glass office. Another slender redhead sat behind the desk inside, her hair was more strawberry blonde than bright red like Julia's, though. She was wearing a blue dress.

_Wow. So, Tony Stark definitely has a type._

The woman behind the desk stood, she was tall, almost a head taller than Alice. She smiled and extended her hand.

"Virginia Potts, C.E.O of Stark Industries. You can call me Pepper, everyone does."

"Alice Vorso, Ms. Potts, I'm pleased to meet you."

"Please, Alice, call me Pepper." Pepper walked out from behind the desk and went over to a cluster of chairs on the right hand side of the office. Julia followed. Alice walked over too, noting that Pepper was barefoot, and still a head taller than Alice, who was wearing heels.

_Good grief, the woman's an Amazon. If she fell down, she'd be halfway home._

Julia was at least wearing shoes. She was still a head taller than Alice, though.

Alice sat in an unoccupied chair, crossing her feet at the ankles and turning her knees to the side, just like her Grams taught her. She pulled her messenger bag into her lap and took out her folder. It contained several copies of her résumé and a few memo samples, as well as cover letters if they asked for them.

Pepper began speaking, "I know you've probably heard that this job is for Mr. Stark's assistant, but the official job title is 'assistant and public liaison to the C.E.O of Stark Industries', which is me. I hope that's not too shocking," she smiled.

"Oh, that's completely fine," said Alice. "To tell you the truth, the thought of working for Mr. Stark is intimidating."

Pepper laughed and exchanged a look with Julia.

The rest of the interview was pretty routine. They were impressed with her resume and her memo samples. Julia seemed blunt and straight-forward. She contrasted well with Pepper's polite honesty. Julia was also loud, where Pepper was quiet.

"Did you find your way here easily, Alice?" asked Pepper.

"Oh, yes. I don't live far from here, it was only a 20 minute cab ride."

Pepper smiled, "Well, you shouldn't have to take a cab every day when you start working here, we'll send a driver."

"Oh, that's not necess.." Alice trailed off. "Excuse me, did you say WHEN I start working here?" she asked, trying (and failing) to keep her voice level. Pepper and Julia grinned simultaneously.

"I'm so excited to have you work with me!" Exclaimed Pepper. "Of course, it's not a done deal yet, even though you'll technically be my assistant, you'll be working closely with Mr. Stark as well. So, he has requested, nay, DEMANDED, that he be a part of the hiring process." She looked over to Julia who was biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"Don't look so worried," Julia chided. "Out of all the people who have met Tony Stark, MOST of them survived. "

As if on cue, the doors to the office swung open.

"Jules, why aren't you at your desk? Your smiling face is what I live for," said Tony Stark, strutting into the office like he owned the place…well, he did own the place, so it was understandable.

Pepper stood up.

"We're interviewing my new assistant, we just need the go ahead to hire her," said Pepper.

Alice stood, her folder fell open and papers flew everywhere.

"Shit," Alice whispered through clenched teeth.

Tony laughed. "You picked a real winner." He knelt to gather some of her papers. He shuffled through them to find her resume. "Thanks, sweetheart saves me the trouble of telling you I don't like being handed things." He let the rest of the papers fall back to the ground as he stood up.

"Tony…" Pepper sighed, as she and Julia rushed to help Alice.

"Vorso…Vorso, Vorso…" said Tony. "Is this the chick whose boyfriend got her the interview?"

"SHIELD Agent Ezekiel Powell recommended her," answered Pepper.

Alice looked up, "If you'll look at my resume, you'll see I'm more than qualified, I have 4 years of experience in this type of work, and a degree in Public Relations. Plus, he's my fiancé, not my boyfriend." She closed her eyes. _Why did I say that?_ She thought.

Tony snorted, "How sweet. Let me guess…" he crumpled her resume, pointing it at her. "You've been 'engaged' for more than 2, no…3 years. No end in sight?" He searched her face and smiled at what he found there. "Boyfriend," he stated, enunciating each syllable. Alice stopped picking up her papers. Her temper flared. She stood.

"My personal life is none of your business, the only thing you should be concerned with is my professional life, which is more than adequate for this job."

"Nice accent…Mississippi?" Tony asked, bemused.

"Tennessee…that's not…"

"Tennessee? Well, Lord have mercy, we've got a real southern belle on our hands." He drawled in a poorly executed southern accent.

"Sir…"

"Pepper, I don't know, do we really need to hire Delta Burke?"

"Tony, Delta Burke was from Florida, and Designing Women was set in Atlanta," corrected Jules, winking at Alice.

"Well, there's no one famous from Tennessee."

"June Carter Cash…Minnie Pearl…Dixie Carter…"supplied Jules.

"Dixie Carter! I don't know if we need to hire Dixie Carter."

Alice ignored him, barreling forward, stubborn to a fault. "My personal life doesn't affect my professional life at all. It's true that my FIANCE got me the interview, but I hope to be hired purely based on my professional skill set, which to reiterate, is more than adequate. While we've broached the subject, where I am from should have no bearing on whether or not I am hired. It's just geography."

Her mouth was a thin line, her green eyes flashed and unshed tears gathered in the corners against her will. She raised her chin defiantly, just as her knees started wobbling, she sat down quickly in the chair. _Damnit…I locked my knees…_she thought miserably, flexing her feet.

"And…I've lost interest," Tony shrugged. He turned to leave. "Hire her. I like her. She's saucy. Just remind her to breathe. And remind me to 'never cross a Sugarbaker woman!'" he laughed at his own joke. "JARVIS, is Bruce back yet?"

The voice returned, "No sir, Dr. Banner sent word that he won't be returning for at least another month."

"Well, I'm shooting back to L.A for a while. Break her in for me, Pepper." He turned and winked at Alice over his shoulder.

Pepper excused herself politely before proceeding to berate Tony on his "deplorable manners."

"What's a 'Sugarbaker woman'?" asked Alice exasperatedly, after they had left. .

Julia laughed. "It's from 'Designing Women, didn't you ever watch that show?"

"Nope," Alice shook her head. "We didn't have T.V."

Julia laughed out loud. Alice frowned, trying to look puzzled.

"Oh, you're serious? I'm so sorry."

"No, we had T.V. I'm just yankin' ya." She winked at Julia. "I never watched Designing Women, though, I mostly watched NBC sitcoms, that was the only channel we could pick up besides PBS."

Julia peered at her, questioningly.

"That, I'm being serious about," Alice smiled. "Now, I have pretty much every channel under the sun, and I still don't watch any of them," she chuckled.

Julia laughed, "To be perfectly honest, I barely have time. I DVR everything and watch it all at once on my day off."

"What's Mr. Stark's deal? Was he making fun of me? I couldn't tell."

"That's Tony. You get used to him."

Alice snorted, "Maybe I don't want to get used to it. Is this job really worth it?"

Julia smiled, "Yes", she said simply. "Wait in here until Pepper returns. Make yourself at home. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Water?"

"Tea would be great, thank you, Ms. Morgan."

"Jules, please. We're going to be around each other non-stop once you start training."

"If I start training," Alice corrected. "When would that be, hypothetically?"

"Pepper will tell you when she gets back," Jules started to leave. "Oh! How do you take your tea?"

"Cream and sugar," replied Alice. "Thank you."

"It's a pleasure, and of course, a one-time thing. Once we're colleagues, get your own damn tea," Jules winked and turned to glide out of the office.

Alice was too wound up to sit down, so she walked the perimeter of the office and looked at the artwork. Jules left her tea by the door. Alice walked over to get her mug, and the door to the office opened. Pepper walked into the room.

"Congrats on getting the job!" exclaimed Pepper. "So, it's already almost 11; I was going to take Jules out to lunch at 12:30, and she and I would love for you to join us." She continued, "After lunch, you can start shadowing Jules. For now, you'll need to get a name tag, and…"

"Wait…" interrupted Alice. "I'm sorry, but I haven't accepted the job offer yet."

Pepper smiled, "I apologize; I got ahead of myself…"

"Also (sorry for interrupting again), but, there's the issue of my current job. I haven't quit or even given notice yet," added Alice.

"Oh, don't worry about that," dismissed Pepper. "We'll take care of it."

"What about my experience there? I was there for 4 years, and I'd like to keep them as a reference."

"Again, no worries. If you ever leave us here at Stark Industries, you will have a glowing recommendation. Don't worry about interruptions. I used to have your job, and I had Tony for a boss. I just had to get used to talking over him. Sometimes I can tend to steamroll people." Pepper smiled, "So, I would like to formally offer you this job, Alice."

Alice thought about it. She knew the perks were better and there was the promise of moving up in the company; whereas, her current job held no such promise. Of course, she'd have to put up with Tony, but she'd mostly be working with Pepper. Yes, the benefits definitely outweighed the negatives.

"Okay. Yes, I accept."

"GREAT!" exclaimed Pepper. She motioned for Alice to follow her as she exited the office and walked over to Jules' desk. "Lunch at 12:30, but first things first, you need to go down to security to get a name tag/badge/thing, and to get your fingerprints scanned into the system. You will also need to sign some forms for legal and from payroll. We'll start you off shadowing Jules after lunch. So exciting!" she reiterated. "Jules, can you call someone to escort her around, and input her info for Jarvis, so she can use the elevators?" With that, Pepper walked back into her office.

Jules was on the phone, so Alice waited patiently. "Okay…" said Jules, hanging up the phone. "Happy says to just send you down to security."

"How do I get to security?" asked Alice.

"I'll take you down there myself; I need to get another copy made of my ID. New-ish policy. Total joke, the only one who makes a big deal out of it is Happy."

Jules stood and started to leave the waiting area. Alice followed.

"Um…can I ask? Why is he called Happy?"

"It's a nickname from his boxing days. He never smiled," grinned Jules, as they walked down the hall to the elevators.

"I thought it might be something like that," exclaimed Alice, "Like how sometimes the really tall guy is called Tiny?"

Jules laughed as she pressed her thumb to the pad on the elevator. "It's exactly like that."

"State your name," said JARVIS.

"Julia Morgan."

"Alice Vorso."

"Wonderful. To the ground floor, ladies?" asked JARVIS.

"Yes, thank you," replied Jules.

"What is JARVIS?" asked Alice.

"Just A Rather Very Intelligent System," replied Jules.

"What?" asked Alice, confused.

"I'm Mr. Stark's A.I.," replied JARVIS.

"Oh, your name is an acronym! Like the TARDIS!" exclaimed Alice.

"Quite. Except I, unfortunately, am not bigger on the inside," lamented JARVIS.

"Well, I still think you're amazing, nonetheless," said Alice reassuringly.

"Thank you, Ms. Vorso," said JARVIS, "Ground floor, Lobby & Atrium, Security." The elevator doors opened.

"Thank you!" chimed both women as they exited the elevator. They turned to the left, to the right was the lobby, and started down the hall.

"After this, Happy will escort you to legal, and then to payroll. After that, just find any elevator with a fingerprint scanner, and ask Jarvis to take you to the office suites. Only elevators with fingerprint scanners can take you to the upper floors," explained Jules.

"I would think there would be tighter security than just fingerprint scanners," said Alice.

"Fingerprint scanners get you into the elevator. Jarvis runs the elevator. If JARVIS don't know you, JARVIS don't move," explained Jules.

She opened a door to their right. There was a tall counter that ran the length on the room; there were lots of CCTV feeds along the back wall, and quite a few security employees watching them. Jules addressed the guy behind the desk. He looked to be around the same age as Jules and Alice.

"Thomas, is Happy around?" asked Jules.

"Yeah."

Jules waited, impatiently, "Could you tell him we're here?"

"A 'please' here and there never killed anyone," chided Thomas.

"Mine might", replied Jules dryly.

Thomas noisily pushed his chair back and walked down the hall behind the counter. Alice looked at Jules and raised her eyebrows.

"We went on a couple dates, but it never clicked", explained Jules. "Well, it clicked for him, not for me, he bears a grudge, I guess," she shrugged, "But, it's all an adventure, am I right?"

Alice shrugged, "I wouldn't know, I met my fiancé during my freshman year of college, and there's never been anyone else."

"Oh, well, that's great too!" gushed Jules. "Never had your heart broken, you've got someone you can depend on, AND, you're way ahead of the rest of us schmucks trying to grab around in the dark to find someone we have anything in common with."

Alice smiled, "Yeah, it's pretty nice."

"He's an agent of SHIELD, right? What did you say his name is?"

"Ezekiel Powell. Zeke."

"I don't know him, but that doesn't mean anything other than I've never worked with him before," Jules smiled brightly. Just then, Thomas came back with Happy.

"Alright, here's your replacement badge, Ms. Morgan."

"Happy, call me Jules, we've known each other for 4 years!"

Happy raised an eyebrow and pressed his lips into a line. "Please try not to lose it again, Ms. Morgan."

Thomas snickered.

"Something funny, Riley?" Happy asked.

"No sir." Thomas' smirk disappeared.

"Just because Ms. Morgan turned you down for a third date doesn't give you the right to act like a jack-ass, now shape up. Empty the trashcans." Happy nodded towards Jules. "Ms. Morgan"

Jules nodded, arching her eyebrow, "Mr. HOGAN." She turned to leave, winking at Alice. Happy watched her leave the room.

"Mr. Hogan?"

"Ms. Vorso! Congratulations on your new job!" he said loudly, overcompensating for the fact that he was watching Jules walk away. "If you'll follow me, I'll get you set up." He lifted the counter at the hinge and gestured to Alice.

"Thank you," said Alice as she followed him down the hall.

Outfitted with her shiny new security badge, fresh from signing piles of forms and non-disclosure agreements, and with her direct deposit all set up, she pressed her thumb to a fingerprint scanner outside an elevator. She boarded and stated her name for JARVIS, excited to be using it alone for the first time. Once up in the office suites, she met up with Pepper and Jules, ready for lunch and to start her training.

**Author's Note: **

**This is my first fanfiction submission. Having said that, comments and critiques are welcome! I don't own any Marvel characters, sadly. I do, however, own Alice, Zeke, Jules and Thomas. MINE. I have the whole thing written, so I'll be updating regularly. Be sure to follow! :) I hope you like it! Also, the rating will go up later on due to language/violence.**

**Also, I'm aware that I tagged this as Bruce B./OC fic, and lo and behold, no Bruce in this chapter. I'm setting up Alice in these first two chapters, and there's only brief mentions of our Jolly Green Doctor. He'll be in Chapters 3 and beyond, so please be patient!**


	2. Chapter 2

2\. Chapter 2

**A/N at the end. :) Song for this chapter is 'I Feel Fantastic' by Jonathon Coulton**

**Alice**

"And that's how Tony forced the chef at Jean Georges to make us cheeseburgers! And to tell you the truth, they weren't even all that good!" laughed Pepper as she, Alice and Jules re-entered the office after lunch.

They'd had salads at a little bistro that Pepper knew. It wasn't far from Stark Tower, and Alice was considering the possibility of eating there regularly. She'd had the Caribbean Chicken Salad at the urging of Jules. She wasn't the biggest fan of coconut, but she tried it and was pleasantly surprised.

After lunch, Alice was left in Jules' care to learn the ways of the job. It was basically just like her previous job. Lots of transcription, copy work, phone answering, and coffee fetching. Of course, it was made a lot more enjoyable in the company of Jules, whose brusque and blunt demeanor was a refreshing change from the two-faced corporate world Alice was familiar with.

About 20 minutes before Pepper's 3 o'clock meeting, people started to filter in to the waiting room. Jules greeted each one by name and ushered them into Pepper's boardroom.

After all the expected people had arrived, Jules grabbed Alice's arm and dragged her out of the waiting area. "We've got two hours to kill; Pepper doesn't need us at the meeting, boring stuff, apparently. Would you like to meet the Avengers?" she asked, smiling excitedly.

Alice's eyes grew wide. "You mean, they're here? NOW?" she exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, they live here."

"WHAT?! Isn't that dangerous? What about the big green one? The Hulk? Wouldn't he like…destroy the building?"

"Dr. Banner? No. He can control it most of the time. He's a normal if slightly insensitive and sometimes downright jerky guy."

"What about Captain America?"

"Steve? Oh, he's a sweetheart. He lives here too."

"Wow," said Alice, in awe.

"The other half of our (soon to be your) duties, are to check in with them and just keep tabs on where they are. Part of SHIELD's commandments. If they want to live here in freedom, they have to know where they are. Like, right now, Dr. Banner's in Indonesia somewhere. He goes off on trips trying to find a cure for his 'condition'," explained Jules as they boarded the elevator.

"Why does he want to cure himself? He's a superhero."

"Well, from what I understand of it, which isn't much, it's really violent and painful."

"Oh," said Alice.

The elevator opened and they exited into what looked like a huge, posh penthouse apartment. Of course, this wasn't the top floor, so it wasn't technically a penthouse. In front of them was a HUGE eat-in kitchen, to the left a living area with a large home theater system and to the right a hallway. There looked to be a balcony out past the living area and another hallway branching out from there.

Seated at the counter, eating a bowl of Grape Nuts and reading a book titled Electronic Life Styles: How Electronics Are Changing Our Lives, was none other than Captain America. He looked up from his book and smiled.

"Hello, Ms. Morgan," he said.

"Captain Rogers, it's nice to see you again. I came up to introduce my replacement, Alice Vorso, She'll be taking over in a month when I move on, and she'll be shadowing me until then."

Steve turned to Alice and held out his hand. Trembling, she took it. "Ms. Vorso, I'm pleased to meet you, I'm sorry Ms. Morgan is leaving," he nodded to Jules, "but happy to see she's leaving us in capable hands."

He smiled his 100-watt smile and Alice couldn't speak, she thought she would possibly melt right then and there. Suddenly, her knee buckled and her shoe flipped to the side. She had to grab Steve's forearm for support. Mortified, she tried to right herself, only to feel her ankle start to give with she put weight on it.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Steve, as he slipped his arms under hers and lifted her easily up onto the stool where he'd been sitting.

Alice blushed crimson, and started to babble. "I'm so sorry, I just…I don't know what I was thinking…these shoes…I'm so clumsy when I'm nervous, and…I'm just so sorry!" She looked down at her lap, thoroughly embarrassed.

Jules laughed, "Oh its fine, Captain Rogers is aware of the effect he has on women, I'm sure."

Steve's eyes widened, it was his turn to blush.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, NO! It's not that!" stammered Alice. "I mean, you ARE…you are attractive, sir. But, I've just, I've just heard about you for my entire life! My grandpa…my GRANDPA, he...he got to meet you when he was young, and… he had a picture of you up in his bar. But…I'm so sorry; I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

Steve smiled awkwardly and looked over at Jules.

Alice took a deep breath to keep from apologizing again, and bent over to slip off her shoes.

Steve cleared his throat. "Beg your pardon, ladies, I need to get going, have a great day." He nodded curtly, "Ms. Morgan, always a pleasure. Ms. Vorso, I'm pleased to meet you." He grabbed his book and bowl, and dumped the latter into the sink, swiftly leaving the common area.

Jules sat down on the stool beside Alice. "That went well," she said brightly.

Alice dropped her shoes on the floor. "Could've been worse…I could've thrown up on him." She turned on the stool to face the counter and put her head down on it.

"Just…wow," said Jules. "I mean, that was just amazing. Steve is the most easy going one, I have no idea how you did that!"

"Just talented, I guess," groaned Alice.

Jules laughed and patted her on the back. "It'll be okay, hon. Steve bounces back. We'll just have to make sure you put in face time every day, just like socializing a puppy. C'mon, you can meet Natasha and Clint another day. Dr. Banner won't even be back for another week or so, but we can go down to the lab and meet Dr. Foster. Her lab assistant is even more awkward than you, not much chance of you causing any damage there. Just…" she stopped and turned to face Alice, "Don't touch anything."

They got up to leave; Alice grabbed her shoes, dangling them from one hand. They entered the elevator, Jules informed JARVIS that they wished to go to the Lab, Level 1. (There were 10 levels of the tower that were strictly for lab research).

Alice sighed, "It's really only a problem if I'm nervous or flustered, or excited."

Jules snorted. "It's a good thing Dr. Banner isn't here then, that guy makes ME nervous."

"Why?"

"Oh, you mean besides the fact that he turns into the Angry Green Giant?

"Of course."

"Well, he's actually got pretty good control of that. It's just…he's really intimidatingly smart. CRAZY smart. Stephan Hawking smart," emphasized Jules. "He makes you feel like an ant." She squeezed her thumb and forefinger together, "This big." She shrugged, "Nuclear Physicists."

Alice smirked, "I know the type, my Grandpa would say he holds his nose so high, he'd drown in a rainstorm."

Jules chuckled. "Your grandpa sounds like an interesting individual."

They exited the elevator, walking down the hall.

"If he's anything, he's interesting," laughed Alice. "He owns a piano bar outside of Memphis, lives off the grid in a house he built himself, and smokes more pot than any of my friends in college ever dreamed of."

Jules guffawed, a noise that sounded like a cross between a goose honking and a witch cackling. It made Alice smile nervously. "Oh my God, I have got to meet him sometime!"

"He won't set foot in New York."

"That's a pity." Jules wiped her eyes as she tried the door to the lab, finding it locked, she pressed the buzzer beside the door. It buzzed loudly. They waited, and waited. Jules pushed the buzzer again, and the door promptly opened.

"Owwwwwww!" whined the girl on the other side. She was a brunette, with large eyes. She was short, around Alice's height, a little taller. She was dressed in a zip up hoodie, t-shirt and jeans. She was wearing sneakers. She was holding her ears, and looked annoyed.

"Sorry, Darcy," said Jules.

"Juuuullleess, you're killing me"

"This is Alice Vorso, my replacement. Alice, this is Darcy Lewis, Dr. Foster's lab assistant."

"And Taser-er of the Gods," added Darcy proudly.

Alice widened her eyes, cutting her gaze towards Jules before extending her hand.

"Hello, Ms. Lewis…" she began.

"What kind of squirrel farm did they find you on?"

Alice frowned, "I don't think that's a thing…"

"Well, I guess you'd know, Texas…can I call ya 'Tex'?"

"I'm from Tennessee."

"Even better! Oh my gosh! Love it, Tennessee."

Alice tried to move past the awkwardness, "Hello, Ms. Lewis, I'm pleased to—"

Darcy interrupted "Call me Darcy. All that Ms. Lewis crap is for the nerds."

"Don't you mean for the birds?" asked Alice.

"Probably so, but the nerds are the ones who can talk," answered Darcy solemnly.

"Well in that case, hello Darcy. I'm pleased to meet you."

"How about you guys come into the lab instead of standing in the hall? Standing in the hall is for losers. It's loserly," said Darcy, and turned on her heel.

"Walk this way…" she groaned and began to drag one foot behind her, hitching a shoulder up and limping further into the large room.

Alice looked at Jules, who was wearing a look on her face that said 'I told you so.'

Alice chuckled. Darcy looked at her.

"Young Frankenstein?" she said, eyes still wide. "I love Mel Brooks."

Darcy's face broke into a grin, "I think I'm gonna like you Al."

Alice scrunched up her face, "Um, please call me 'Alice,' or 'Ally' if you need a nickname. I don't like 'Al'… Sorry."

Darcy clapped her on the back, "No need to apologize. Alice it is. Ally sound like a 7-year-old girl's name."

Alice laughed, "Thanks."

"They have Mel Brooks in Tennessee, Tennessee?"

"Yes…"

"Good to know."

They had walked around a stainless steel countertop, and were walking back in the direction they had come, on the opposite side of the counter. The lab was enormous, and mostly dark except where they were headed. Alice craned her neck to see the other side of the room. Tables were littered with pieces of Iron Man suits, tools and other implements lay on every flat surface. It was obviously Tony's area.

The far corner of the lab was the darkest; she could barely make out the shapes of large pieces of equipment. That was most likely Dr. Banner's station. Everything reminded Alice of the labs from high school and college. Except bigger, and with more blinking lights. There were also safety showers, eye wash stations, and what looked to be observation cells. Those were different. Jules and Darcy were discussing the incident with Thomas down in security. Darcy snorted when she laughed.

There were many large machines, none of which were active, but Alice's attention was fixed on the hunky blond GOD of a man seated on a stool beside a slight brunette woman who was glued to the computer screen. Hunky Blond God had his fist under his chin and a large ornate hammer on his knee, his other hand on the handle. He was wearing what looked like battle armor, and totally rocking it. He noticed the three women walking towards them.

"Well met!" He practically bellowed, a wide grin on his face, arms out to the side. He set his hammer down on the floor and strode over to them. He grabbed Jules up in a bear hug, lifting her off the ground in the process.

"Lady Julia! It has been too long."

"Thor!" squeaked Jules "I didn't know you would be here."

Darcy tapped Thor on the arm. "Remember what we talked about before, Thor-zy-Wor-zy?" Remember your strength."

Thor put Jules down, who gulped air into her starved lunges.

"I apologize, Lady Julia. I forget how weak Midgardian woman are."

"Not weak," coached Darcy. "Weak in insulting. What word did I tell you to use?"

"Dainty!" boomed Thor.

"That's right, good job!" Darcy said brightly.

Thor directed his attention to Alice, "Lady Julia, you must introduce me to your companion."

"This is Alice Vorso, she's training to be my replacement."

Thor looked confused, "Replacement?"

"She's going to do what I do, and I'll be working somewhere else."

"Ah, she will assist the man of Iron and his Lady Pepper," Thor nodded animatedly. "LADY ALICE, the replacement!" he bellowed cordially, throwing his arms around her and lifting her up in a crushing hug.

"Thor! You're crushing her, remember she's DAINTY!" chided Darcy.

"My apologies, Tiny Alice. You are indeed the smallest woman I've ever seen." He paused. "You are yet a woman?"

"What?" gasped Alice. "Yes, I'm twenty-six." She said indignantly.

Thor nodded, patted her head and strode back over to his stool. The brunette still hadn't looked up from the computer screen.

"Dr. Foster?" said Jules.

They all waited. She didn't slow her furious typing or even flinch when Jules said her name.

"My lady is hard at work," explained Thor. "She is Midgard's best..." he was searching for the word.

"Astrophysicist," supplied Dr. Foster.

"Jane?" said Darcy. "We really need you to turn around so you can meet Jules' replacement."

"Just a second…" Dr. Foster trailed off. She then stopped typing and turned towards them in her chair.

"Jane this is Alice, she'll be replacing Jules in a month."

Jane shook her hand, "Alice what?"

"Vorso, and I'm pleased to meet you Dr. Foster."

Jane smiled, sort of. "Pop tarts?"

Alice's brow furrowed, "Come again?"

Darcy interjected, "She's making sure you know to keep the pop tarts stocked, when she's deeply imbedded in SCIENCE!" Darcy exclaimed, one hand raised in the air triumphantly. "She's a Poptartitarian who also drinks coffee," she continued.

"Your duties here in the lab consist of bringing up meals for Jane, Tony, and Bruce when he's here," said Jules, gesturing around the lab.

"Just asking, but why does the CEO's assistant have to bring food up to scientists? Isn't there another lackey to do that?" asked Alice.

"Top secret stuff goes on up here, and besides the executives, the CEO's assistant is the only one with the security clearance to get here," she replied.

"But I never went through any security checks," said Alice.

"Oh, honey…" said Darcy, touching her arm.

Jules continued, "You've been in the system since your fiancé took the job as an agent of SHIELD."

"What?!" exclaimed Alice.

"Sorry, but it's what they do," said Jules.

"But that's an invasion of privacy. That's unconstitutional," argued Alice.

"You signed the forms when he started working there," said Jules.

Alice's eyes widened, "Oh my God. Do they know everything?"

"And then some."

"That's so creepy," said Alice shivering.

"Hey," said Darcy, "think of it this way. It's not like they're all huddled in your room with a flashlight reading your diary. They just… know it all already." She grimaced, "Not as helpful as I thought it would be, sorry."

"Well, I don't like it, but it's not like they can un-know it now, no way to un-ring that bell," Alice sighed.

Darcy slapped her on the back, "That's the spirit."

Alice smiled weakly.

Jules checked her watch, "Whoa! It's almost 5! We need to get back down to the office; Pepper's meeting is almost over!" She grabbed Alice's arm. "We'll see you all in an hour, when we bring up your evening meal."

"That won't be necessary, Lady Julia, Tiny Alice," said Thor. "Lady Jane is taking me to her friend 'Chili's' abode for a feast of infant ribs."

Alice and Jules stared at him in alarm.

"Chili's. Baby Back Ribs," corrected Jane.

"Oh!" exclaimed Alice.

Jules sighed in relief. "Well, have fun with that," she directed to Jane. "Darce, are you also dining on infant ribs this evening?"

"Nope, headed home for the blue box special."

"Mac and cheese doesn't sound like a healthy dinner…"chided Jules. "Come down to the office and eat take out with me and Alice tonight."

"Take out?" asked Alice. "Do you always stay that late?"

"Well, I usually stay until about 7, but tonight it'll be later, since I'm training you."

"I'm sorry…" began Alice.

"Oh no, don't worry about it. It always takes longer to teach someone than to do it yourself. We really do need to head back down now," said Jules, looking at her watch. "We're ordering dinner at 7, see you then, Darcy."

"Bye," waved Alice as they scurried out the door.

On their way down to the office, Jules asked Jarvis where Pepper was.

"Miss Potts is still in her meeting, it appears to have run long."

"Thanks, JARVIS."

Jules breathed a sigh of relief, "Pepper's not too much of a hard ass when it comes to punctuality, but I hate to disappoint her. It's like disappointing a…beautiful swan or something."

Alice pondered as to what EXACTLY one might do to disappoint a swan as the rode the rest of the way to the office.

They hurried in through the door and over to the desk, Jules sat and immediately pulled out her stark phone to check the voicemail. She started writing down messages and handing them to Alice to input.

By the time they'd finished, people had started to leave Pepper's office. It was 5:30 when they all left. Pepper came out a few minutes later.

"I'm leaving for the day, ladies, are there any messages?"

"Dr. Libscombe from Meadowbrook Hospital called for you, she wants to speak to both you and Tony," said Jules, handing the note card to Pepper.

Pepper pursed her lips and frowned, looking at the message. "I've never heard of Meadowbrook before…this must be for our non-profit division, I'm sure." She pursed her lips thoughtfully, "anything else?" she asked.

"Your 2 o'clock has been moved to 4 tomorrow," said Alice.

Pepper smiled, "Thank you, Alice, you're doing fine…Have a good night, don't stay too late."

And she was gone.

"Okay," began Jules, "so after hours, you'll just kind of make sure everything is in order for the next day, schedule new meetings and/or appointments, then clean up the schedule and transcribe any notes from meetings. I'll tell you who is talking so you have a name to record."

"I need to call Zeke and let him know I'll be late."

"Sure! I'll get everything together and we'll get started when you get back."

Alice walked a short distance away and dialed Zeke's number. Voicemail. She sighed and left a message, walking back to where Jules had set up camp.

They set to work, transcribing the two hour meeting. At about 6:45, Darcy strolled in, plopping down in one of the oversized arm chairs. Jules decided they would start their break early.

"I ordered pizza, hope that's fine," she said. "We'll do something different tomorrow, but I figured everyone liked pizza."

A little after 7, Thomas Riley sauntered in through the door, carrying the pizzas.

"Evening ladies," he practically hissed.

Looking at him, Alice decided he was not unlike a snake. He had sandy blond hair and almond shaped hazel eyes, combined with angular features and a saunter that was not unlike a slink, none of which helped his case. He was on the shorter side, for a male, he was barely taller than Julia. He wore his hair slicked back, and he reeked of cologne.

"Thanks, Thomas," said Jules, forcing a smile.

"I tipped the delivery guy for you," said Thomas.

"Thanks," said Jules, pointedly.

"10 bucks," he continued.

"I'll have to owe you; you know I don't carry cash."

"I have it," said Alice, grabbing her bag and fishing out her pocket book. She pulled out a 10 and handed it to Thomas, a fake smile plastered on her face.

He glared at her before snatching the bill form her hand. "Laters," he said flippantly as he slunk out the door.

"Ugh, what a creep, he makes me wish I had my taser," said Darcy, shivering.

"Thanks for that," said Jules to Alice.

"Don't mention it; I didn't want you to owe that snake any favors."

Jules laughed, "He is a snake, isn't he?"

"Thomasssss the ssssssnake," hissed Alice.

"Latersssssssss," added Darcy.

They all laughed and dug into their pizza.

After dinner, they said goodbye to Darcy, and finished up their transcription. On their way downstairs, Jules explained that a driver would take them both home in the evenings and pick them up in the morning.

"The driver is also here in case we need to run any errands during the day," she added.

When they got outside, there were two cars waiting by the curb. They said goodnight to one another and climbed into their respective cars.

On the way home, Alice contemplated the turn her day had taken. Earlier that morning, she'd been less than excited about her interview, and now, she was a full-fledged employee of Stark Industries. Her driver let her off in front of the building and stayed until she was safely inside.

Once she entered her apartment, she was surprised to find it dark. She sighed. Zeke must be working late again.

She went back to her bedroom and undressed, wrapping her ratty flannel bathrobe around herself and picking up all the clothing off the floor and bed, putting it away. She then hopped in the shower.

Afterwards, she dressed in her pajamas: grey cotton pants and a tank top. She went out to the kitchen to fix Zeke a sandwich for when he got home. She checked the time: 9:20. She sighed and turned on the T.V, flopping down on the couch. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, Zeke was shaking her awake and regaling her with an abridged version of his day. The clock read 11:50, and she yawned and smiled, listening to him talk animatedly between bites of his sandwich.

"Oh my gosh, babe, how did your interview go?"

"You didn't listen to my voicemails?" she asked.

Zeke winced, "Sorry, babe."

"It's fine," she smiled and gave him the details of her day. He hugged her excitedly.

"I'm so glad it worked out, Al."

Alice yawned again, "Time for bed, I think."

Zeke agreed, and before she knew it, Alice was fast asleep.

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm kind of thrilled to have followers and favorites after only 2 days. :D Thank you so much! **

**Anyway, I had someone ask when this story is set in the timeline, a legitimate question for sure. This is set post Iron Man 3 and post Thor 2, I guess, I'm not sure where that timeline fits in with my story. Truth be told, I hadn't actually seen Thor 2 when I started writing this. We'll just suffice it to say that Thor's on earth now. (It's really not super important to the plot anyway, I just have him in there because it's super fun to write his dialogue.) This is also definitely PRE-Winter Soldier.**

**Also, I guess I should probably say that while this is mostly MovieVerse, I've thrown a little ComicVerse in to keep it interesting. :D**

I don't own any of the Marvel Universe. I own Alice, Zeke, Jules, and Thomas, though. :)

**I PROMISE, Bruce is in the next chapter, which will be up Monday! Please follow/favorite if you haven't already, and review if the mood strikes you. I would love to hear some feedback! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

3\. Chapter 3

**A/N at the end. :) You know the drill by now. Song for this chapter is 'A Good Idea at the Time' by OK Go!**

**Alice**

Over the next few weeks, Alice shadowed Jules. Each morning a black car arrived in front of her apartment building promptly at 6:30 am. The first morning Alice brought her breakfast along to eat in the car during the drive. On the second morning, Preston, her driver, brought her bagels from her favorite café. He did that every morning after the first.

He was nice enough. Quiet in the mornings and more talkative in the evenings. Alice sensed that, like herself, Preston wasn't really a morning person.

Work began at 7 am when Jules and Alice would tackle the voicemail, switching up between taking the messages and inputting the information for JARVIS. Alice knew she was going to miss Jules' help when she moved on.

As it turned out Jules would still be in the building, she was just going to move down the hall to the PR department. Well, across the hall and down a few floors. She was going to head up the official Avengers PR team. The battle for New York had left a sour taste in the public's collective mouth, and if anyone could fix it Jules could.

After the voicemails, they took breakfast up to Jane and Darcy in the lab. Tony was still in L.A and Dr. Banner was still in Indonesia, so they were the only two in the lab at present. Then, Alice and Jules went back down to the office where they arrived just in time to greet Pepper with coffee and her preferred breakfast: oatmeal with sea salt and a half of a grapefruit.

It came as no surprise to Alice how Pepper kept her figure trim. She ate like a bird, and survived on caffeine. She was never to be without her coffee, black, with a pinch of sugar.

The Starkphone was constantly ringing. "Virginia Potts' office, this is Alice." Alice was sure she said it hundreds of times throughout the day. More often than not the caller sounded affronted and asked to speak with Jules. That was going to get old very quickly.

They stayed in the office through lunch, eating bites of salad and sandwiches between calls and organizing Pepper's agenda. They took lunch up to the lab at 1 pm and retrieved the dishes from breakfast, which were usually stacked neatly on the counter in front.

The afternoons were usually spent in meetings and checking in with various members of the Avengers. Steve still seemed wary of Alice, but he was starting to warm up to her, even if only a little. Thor always greeted Alice loudly and jovially, hugging her until she thought her lungs would burst.

Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow, had never spoken so much as a word to her. Jules assured her it was a good sign. Apparently, Romanov spoke many words to Jules, none of them particularly kind.

Clint Barton, or Hawkeye as he was known, was marginally friendlier. She received a nod in greeting and another in farewell. He even went so far as to wave hello to her in the lobby when he passed her there.

Pepper went home no later than six in the evening. Alice was surprised to discover that Pepper actually lived in Stark Tower, in the penthouse. After Pepper left, Alice and Jules finalized Pepper's agenda for the next day and transcribed any meetings that took place.

Darcy hadn't joined them for dinner since Alice's first night there, but she and Jules got along well so it wasn't a huge deal. They usually left for the night around 8:30 or 9 pm, and Alice went to bed soon after arriving home.

During Alice's final week of on-the-job training there was to be a series of meetings throughout the day. Jules thought Alice could handle the phone and meal duty by herself. Pepper agreed.

"You'll do fine," assured Jules the night before, "just like we've been doing. Easy-peasy."

Alice was understandably nervous about going it alone for the first time since accepting the job.

She handled the voicemails that morning alone. It took her a tiny bit longer than usual, and she was a half an hour late bringing breakfast to the lab. She was barraged by a series of texts from Darcy.

"_Seriously, dude. Jane's getting HAN-GRY._"

As she was picking up the trays from the kitchen, she received another text from Darcy.

"_Oh, and Banner's back, so get his food too."_

Alice's stomach clenched. Jules had not been kind when she had described Dr. Banner. Alice was nervous about meeting someone about whom Jules couldn't even find something amiable. She texted Darcy back:

"_No, he's not coming back til Monday."_

"_Really? Well, tell him that, compadre, cuz he's stalking around here like someone pissed in his Cheerios."_

Alice felt like she couldn't breathe. This was NOT supposed to happen. She contemplated calling Jules, but she didn't want to bother her over this. When they dropped off the food, they did just that. Darcy and Jane were always busy, so they didn't talk to each other. She could just order an extra meal and leave it for him and then tomorrow she could officially meet him with Jules there as a buffer.

She took a deep breath. _I can do this._

She got the sous chef's attention and asked for another meal. He raised his eyebrows.

"Is he back?" he asked.

"Yes," affirmed Alice.

"I thought he wasn't coming back until next week."

"Me too."

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised, he's such a flake," said the sous chef, handing Alice another tray.

Alice thought it was an odd thing to say, she'd never heard from anyone that Dr. Banner was a flake. It must be a trait that's overshadowed by the fact that he's also a 'royal ass-hat,' according to Darcy. She smirked at the memory.

Thor had taken Darcy's sarcasm literally and had wondered aloud, 'how the Doctor Banner was so flexible that he could rest his hindquarters on his own head.'

Darcy couldn't even reply.

Alice rearranged the trays so Darcy and Jane's meals were on a tray together, and Dr. Banner's was by itself. She wasn't sure what she was going to do when Tony got back. Perhaps balance one tray on her head Cinderella-style. She chuckled inwardly at the idea.

She carried both trays to the elevator. Once in the lab, she left both on the front counter. She looked back towards the furthest and usually darkest corner of the lab. It was lit up and she could see someone moving around back there. It made her stomach clench again, so she made sure the trays were in order and made a hasty retreat.

Lunch went pretty much the same except Dr. Banner hadn't left his breakfast dishes up front for her. Alice decided to give him until dinner, and then she'd ask Darcy to go get them or something. A childish way of handling it? Probably. She just really didn't want to meet him alone.

When she brought the evening meal up there were still no dishes from Dr. Banner.

Frowning, she leaned against the counter, elbows propped and texted Darcy.

"_Up front, soup's on."_

_"Be right there."_

Alice waited and Darcy jogged up front.

"Hey," said Darcy. "What's new, pussycat?"

"Dr. Banner hasn't returned any of the dishes from breakfast or lunch."

Darcy flattened her mouth and nodded. "That's too bad."

"I need to take them down to be washed."

"Great story. Let me know how it ends." Darcy turned to walk away.

Alice leaned over the counter and grabbed Darcy's arm, her own feet leaving the ground.

"Please, Darcy, can you go get them?"

"Nope."

"C'mon, please?"

"Just leave it 'til tomorrow, and let Jules deal with it."

"No!" exclaimed Alice, "I need to be able to handle this myself! I'm taking over for Jules completely next Monday!"

"Well, then, you shouldn't be asking me to do your dirty work for you," said Darcy.

"But…you're the lab assistant…" pleaded Alice.

"I'm JANE'S lab assistant. That doesn't include having to deal with Señor Verde in there. I don't think Pepper OR Jules will think less of you if you just wait until tomorrow and let Jules take care of it."

Alice sighed. "I'll just come back for your dinner dishes later on, and maybe he'll have left them for me," she said hopefully.

She left with Darcy and Jane's dishes, and took them down to be washed. She went back to the office, hoping to ask Jules what do to. Alice discovered that Jules had already left for the evening, having handled her end of the work already. She'd left a post-it on the computer monitor that read: "Great job today, see you tomorrow, lovey!"

Alice sighed and got to work on the schedule and agenda for the following day. Her dinner came at 7, chicken alfredo from the Stark kitchens. She ate, leaving half of it in the foil take out pan to give to Zeke when she got home.

She sighed again. Just one more day of work and then she could enjoy a day off. She was looking forward to Saturday. Pepper had been kind enough to give her Saturdays off. She was still coming in on Sunday, but having a weekend day off was infinitely better than having one in the middle of the week. It was a miracle that Zeke's day off coincided with hers this week. She hadn't seen him in a while. They were like two ships passing in the night. On the rare occasions that they were both home at the same time he was so distant it was almost like he wasn't there. She was starting to miss him. She gathered all her things and sat them in the desk chair. She then made her way back up to the labs.

It was after 9 when she got there. Darcy and Jane were gone already; their part of the lab dark. She looked at the counter. Only Darcy and Jane's dishes were there. She huffed.

_This is ridiculous,_ she thought.

She stood there for a second, weighing her options before deciding to let Jules handle it. She started to leave and stopped. She looked towards the back corner. It was still. She couldn't hear anything. Maybe he wasn't here. Maybe he'd just left the lights on.

_Asshat, flakey AND wasteful,_ she thought spitefully.

She set the other dishes on the counter and made her way back to Dr. Banner's corner.

She spotted all the covered dishes on a table, propping up notebooks, sketches and various other things. She started to walk over when she saw him. He looked like he was asleep. He was leaning back in a computer chair, hands folded on his stomach. He had lots of floppy brown hair and a scruffy beard that looked more like a couple days of forgotten shaving rather than purposeful. His skin was tanned, at least what she could see of it. Jules said he had been in Indonesia for a few weeks, so that made sense. He was wearing grey slacks and a red button up with a white t-shirt underneath. The sleeves were pushed up past his elbows, and everything he wore looked wrinkled and too big. He looked like he might be tall, Alice couldn't really tell, but most people were tall compared to her.

He looked peaceful, and normal. She might even venture far enough to say he was handsome, although obviously very bookish. He just had that look about him. It didn't help that he'd left his glasses unfolded on his desk on top of an open book. He didn't look at all like he could suddenly change into a scary green rage monster at the slightest provocation.

Alice crept silently towards the table, deciding to stack his notebooks and take all the dishes down to the kitchen. She picked up a manila file folder full of loose papers.

"Leave them."

Alice jumped and gasped, her heart leapt into her throat. "I'm sorry?" she stammered, clutching the folder in front of her.

"Leave them, I'll take them myself," he repeated, eyes still closed.

"I'm sorry I woke you…" she started.

"Wasn't asleep," he said, opening his eyes and peering at her. "Meditating."

"Oh," said Alice, stupidly.

He leaned forward and stared at her intently, aggressively.

"I…I'm Alice Vorso. I'm…Pep..." As she stammered her accent was becoming more and more apparent. She fought to keep her voice level and neutral. She was still holding the stupid folder in front of her like a shield or something.

"Pepper's assistant," he finished, frowning. "I thought your name was Julie or Jenny or something."

"No, it's Alice, and JULIA is who I'm replacing."

"You're new," he stated bluntly.

"Yes."

He was silent for a moment. It was as if he were trying to process this new information. He looked up at her abruptly. "I'm Dr. Banner," he said uncertainly, as if he weren't really sure how to introduce himself.

Alice's mouth was hanging open for some reason. She closed it before answering. "I-I know…" she stammered, "I—" she relaxed her hold on the folder a little too much and the contents fluttered out onto the floor. She stared at the papers, aghast for a moment before apologizing profusely and kneeling down to pick them up.

_Smooth, Vorso. Really smooth. There is still a way to salvage this interchange, just do not, DO NOT open your mouth and unleash a torrent of verbal diarrhea on this poor man._

"I am SO sorry…I'm such a klutz…I mean, seriously…" she started gathering the papers again. He knelt down to help, and she kept her mouth in check.

He took the folder from her and stood. She followed suit carefully so she didn't take another tumble. That's all she'd need.

He just stared at her, probably wondering how she was hired at all. Alice's eyes darted around. The silence was stretching on for too long.

_Say 'good night', and leave. 'Good night', and leave. _

"I…um…know who you are. I've seen you before…last year, during that whole…battle thing in New York…"

He raised his eyebrows.

_Shut up, shut up, shut UP!_

"I mean…you were BIGGER. And green. And…smashing things. But, I've seen you before…that was…thank you. I mean, thanks for what you…Thanks," she said, looking down at her hands sheepishly.

_Am I STILL talking? What the hell is wrong with me?!_

He frowned, "I'm a vegetarian."

Alice stopped talking and blinked a few times, confused. She stared at him, frowning for a minute before the realization hit her.

_All the uneaten food. Of course!_

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea…"

He held his hand up, "It's an honest mistake; I'm surprised no one in the kitchens told you."

Alice thought back to that morning. "Oh, I reckon they thought I was referring to Tony, and not to you."

_RECKON? Way to go. Now he thinks you're a dumb country bumpkin. _She felt her cheeks get red.

Dr. Banner eyed her warily. "Well, now you know." He was staring at her again. Alice shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I'm fixin' to go…Will you at least let me take your dinner tray? You aren't using it to prop somethin' up are you?" _Damn. That accent was out to get her today, it appeared._

Dr. Banner was silent for a long moment before blurting, "What? Oh, no. Take it if you want". He turned to his computer screen.

She went over, picked up the tray, hoisting it up on her shoulder.

Then, it happened.

Seemingly in slow motion, but in truth, it happened faster than a knife fight in a phone booth.

Just as she was turning, her heel stuck to the floor. Her ankle rolled, the tray and its contents went tumbling down onto the table. The soup du jour, which just so happened to be Chef Julian's Vegetable Beef, spilled all over the notebooks. It soaked everything in tomato beef broth. Alice's hands flew up to her face; her eyes darted over to where Dr. Banner had leapt out of his chair in a vain attempt to catch the tray.

The blood drained from her face, and her stomach lurched. She felt a cold feeling envelope her whole body. Her head hurt.

He gaped at the mess before him. He slowly looked up at her.

She flushed, feeling cold and hot at the same time, "I…I'm…I'm so sorry," she began; continuing on a blithering babbling ramble that would have put a frightened two-year-old to shame.

Dr. Banner just looked at her, his brown eyes dark, glowing. His watch started beeping frantically.

"Get. Out." He rasped.

"But let me help you…"

"You've done enough," he ground out through clenched teeth.

Alice froze. She wasn't sure what to do. Her instinct was to help him clean up the mess, but she felt a very strong desire to flee the room.

She knew he had anger problems, but wasn't entirely convinced that this situation warranted the reaction he was having.

"JUST GO!" he bellowed. He held his head in his hands and breathed heavily through clenched teeth.

Alice ran, scared for her life.

She ran to the elevator, mashing buttons frantically. She ran down the hall to the office, hiding under the desk and sobbing for a few minutes before calling Pepper.

**Bruce**

He was meditating. Dr. Foster and her lab assistant had been gone nearly an hour, with the latter pushing the former out forcefully. That was normal.

Bruce was glad that the lab assistant didn't really bother with him anymore. Her voice was too whiney and it was tedious trying to decipher her strange way of speaking. In addition, she took offense when he couldn't remember her name. She had been blabbering something about Jane Austen and Pride & Prejudice the last time it had happened. What was that supposed to trigger? He was a man, for crying out loud. He'd never willingly read a Jane Austen novel in his life. He'd tuned out most of the literature he'd been forced to read. It wasn't important. He pushed all thoughts about the irritating girl out of his head.

He tried focusing on meditating again. Of course the whole notion of focusing on nothing did seem a little counter-intuitive.

However, it was relaxing, and if it was relaxing, it was something Bruce Banner needed to take part in. He'd done everything he could think of to push down the angry beast that lurked beneath the surface. Meditation, herbal remedies, vegetarianism: all ways to keep healthy, keep relaxed and keep the Other Guy from rearing his ugly green head.

He heard the door to the lab buzz as it opened. He heard footsteps clicking and the rattle of dishes. It must be Tony's assistant here to get the dishes. Technically, she was Pepper's assistant, but Tony still ordered her around. He decided to give up on the meditation and cracked his eyes open to look at his work table, where he had utilized all the covered dishes as book and notebook props. He closed his eyes again. He'd take the dishes to the kitchen himself when he left for the night.

He hoped it wouldn't be too late to talk to someone in the kitchen. They hadn't sent up his usual meals. In fact, they weren't even vegetarian. He'd had to make do with Dr. Foster's pop tarts, which, to be perfectly honest, weren't much better than nothing at all. All the chemicals and sugar were messing with his head. After 5 months of clean eating, the sugar rush was insane. They must have someone new working in the kitchen.

He was surprised that Tony's assistant hadn't caught and corrected the mistake. But he was back earlier than he'd expected. Even so, he'd have to remember to let Tony know eventually.

The lead to a medicine man in Indonesia had turned up nothing new. Over a month to find the shaman, a week and a half to gather the various flora, and about five minutes to realize he'd discovered a new twist on Darjeeling.

He'd returned to the States with no new ideas on how to better control the Other Guy. It wasn't a complete waste of time; however, he did manage to catalog two new types of plant-life with calming attributes, obtain samples of their seeds, and detailed instructions on how to produce potent cuttings.

The footsteps were moving closer. He started to breathe deeply to simulate sleep. Maybe she'd just leave him alone. That's when he heard her moving towards the work table. Nope, not going to happen.

"Leave them," he said.

He heard her stumble.

"I'm sorry," she stammered, her voice quieter and smaller than he remembered.

"Leave them, I'll take them down myself," He reiterated.

"I'm sorry I woke you…"

"Wasn't asleep," Bruce said simply.

He opened his eyes and looked at her curiously. She was clutching one of his files in her hands.

"Meditating," he finished.

Okay, that was a lie, he'd let his mind wander. But, she didn't know that.

"Oh," she said, eyes wide and doe-like. Well, more like deer-in-the-headlights. She held the file in front of her, as if she were trying to protect herself or something.

He leaned forward, studying her…something wasn't right. The girl in front of him didn't hold herself the same way she used to. She seemed to be cowering. Actually, she was just shorter than he'd remembered. Her top half was barely visible over the books and dishes on the table. Her face also appeared to be rounder with smaller, more endearing aspects. Well, except for her eyes, they were still very large and darting around rapidly.

_That's not Tony's assistant. She can't be. Did he hire a new one while I was gone? What was wrong with the other one?_

He glanced over her very quickly hoping she didn't notice. Not that her opinion of him should matter. She had red hair, which wasn't surprising. Almost all the women in Tony's direct employ had red hair, so that did nothing to clue him in as to who she was.

The table was blocking most of her still, which irritated him for some reason. He did notice that she was wearing stockings, or tights, or something.

_She must be wearing a skirt_, he thought to himself. It didn't seem likely she'd be wearing shorts with leggings to work, although that might not have been a bad…

"I..I'm…I'm Alice Vorso, I'm…Pep…" her voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"Pepper's assistant," he interrupted, trying to regain some sort of mental composure.

He realized he was still staring at her legs. He quickly looked back up to her face. She was nodding now.

Bruce frowned. "I thought your name was Julie or Jenny or something?" he asked, confused.

"No, it's Alice and JULIA is who I'm replacing."

Realization dawned on Bruce.

"You're new."

"Yes." She affirmed.

_Tony really needs to start hiring people who look different from one another. This is like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory except all the Oompa Loompas are shapely redheads. _

He let his eyes wander up and down her frame once more. _At least, I think she's shapely. _

Bruce realized that the poor girl was probably lost, or at least uninformed as to his identity. Once he told her she'd probably run screaming from the room.

"I'm Dr. Banner," he said, his tone cautious.

"I—I know," she said, stammering as the papers in the folder slid out all over the floor. She muttered something to herself and dropped down to the floor to gather them again.

Bruce felt the Other Guy start growling. He took several deep breaths. She was rambling, apologizing or something. He couldn't really concentrate on what she was saying. The blood in his head was rushing loudly. The Other Guy beat at the confines of the metaphorical prison where Bruce kept him locked away.

It was discouraging. He'd been doing so well with this. Something this trivial shouldn't be sending him over the edge so quickly.

Bruce repeated his calming mantra in his head and felt the Other Guy quiet down, apparently pacified for the time being.

_Good, that's good, _he congratulated himself on not Hulking out and ripping this poor girl to shreds.

He knelt down to help her pick up the rest of the papers. Bruce took the folder from her to keep her from dropping it again.

They stood again, and she looked down abruptly.

She had come out from behind the counter. She was wearing a skirt, pink, and a fitted black sweater over a white top, very conservative. Everything was tailored and fell nicely on her curves. She had a narrow waist, and her breasts looked small, but he really couldn't tell because of the layers and because she had crossed her arms in front of her. Why did women do that? It made it more difficult to ascertain if there was a definitive attraction. She definitely looked softer than the previous assistant had.

She looked up at him suddenly. He panicked.

_Does she know? That's ridiculous, how could she know what I was doing?_

"I…um…know who you are. I've seen you before…last year, during that whole…battle thing in New York…"

He raised his eyebrows.

"I mean…you were BIGGER. And green. And…smashing things. But, I've seen you before…that was…thank you. I mean, thanks for what you…Thanks." She looked down again.

_Did she just…THANK ME? For…smashing things? _

His brow furrowed. "I'm a vegetarian," he blurted.

_What?!_

She frowned as if she was trying to understand his meaning. She bit her bottom lip. That was kind of appealing. She was actually rather attractive.

_In a completely empirical sense, of course_, Bruce thought to himself reassuringly.

Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth formed an "o." "I'm so sorry, I had no idea…"

"It's an honest mistake," he stated. "I'm surprised no one in the kitchens told you."

She appeared to be thinking again.

_There's nothing more attractive than a woman who gives the appearance of thought. _

"Oh, I reckon they thought I was referring to Tony, and not you."

Her face reddened slightly.

"Well, now you know." He detected a tiny bit of an accent, southeastern U.S. She was trying to hide it though. Interesting. It suited her. Quaint. Cute. Whatever the hell word he chose, it would sound stupid if he said it.

He looked at her again, trying to read her expression, the silence reaching awkward levels. She shifted to her other foot, looking anywhere but at him.

"Well, I'm fixin' to go…will you at least let me take your dinner tray?" She stepped around the table and motioned to the untouched tray nearest him. "You aren't using it to prop somethin' up are you?" she asked.

There was that accent again. 'Fixin' to', that was definitely from the southeast.

Her eyes really were quite large. He felt like they were drawing him in. He was a bit embarrassed with himself. He usually didn't ogle the employees. Never to this degree, at least. There was something about this one…

Suddenly, he realized he hadn't responded.

"What? Oh, no. Take it if you want." He waved his hand dismissively at the tray, swiveling in his chair to face the computer screen. He didn't want to look at her anymore.

He heard it before he saw it, and he leapt over to try to stop it.

The contents of the tray toppled down on to his notes, soaking everything in cold, greasy, orange liquid.

He slowly turned to look at her. She wore a horrified expression, her hands covering her mouth.

The sound of blood rushing through his head was deafening. The Other Guy clawed at his psyche, scrambling for release. He fought to keep him in.

_Shit…keep cool, keep cool…_

She started talking. He couldn't understand her; she was blabbering like some unstoppable moron. His pulse crept up, the monitor was beeping. Why the hell did Tony hire someone who was so inept at basic motor skills?

_Not her fault, not her fault…she's probably nervous…just calm down, Big Guy. _

Of course, none of this was helping, The Other Guy was already riled up from before. There was no way in hell he was going to calm him down if she didn't leave. The Other Guy did not like her.

"Get. OUT." He punctuated, voice rasping.

"But…let me help you…" she squeaked.

"You've done enough."

She froze, just staring at him. Why wouldn't she leave?

"JUST GO!" he shouted, his voice starting to deepen and change. He had to get to the containment chamber.

She blinked, tears forming in her eyes, and she was gone. She tripped on her way out, but she was gone.

Bruce staggered back to the containment chamber, knocking over tables on the way.

He finally reached it after what felt like forever, arguing with himself the whole time. He locked the door and collapsed on the floor of the room.

He repeated the calming mantra from earlier. The one that had worked. He had no idea how loud he was, because the blood rushing through his head sounded like a freight train. His pulse monitor was beeping frantically, he glanced down at it. 180 bpm.

_Shit._

He took deep breaths, trying to coax the Other Guy back down. He roared and struggled, but finally he felt him recede. He looked at his pulse monitor, which had stopped beeping. 160 bpm.

_Better, much better._

He groaned, the pain in his head was intense. Each time he talked the Other Guy down, it was worse.

After a while he lifted his head, looking around. He sighed. He'd have to spend the night in here tonight. He was able to lock himself in, but was unable to let himself out. Dr. Foster would be here early. Tony might even be back soon.

He dropped his head back down to the padded floor of the containment chamber, closing his eyes. He dozed.

He heard his name, softly spoken. He jerked his head up, eyes wild to see Pepper and Thor, Mjonir at the ready, looking at him warily through the window of the chamber.

"Sorry," he said. He was. Just because that PA was clumsy didn't mean she deserved the Other Guy's wrath. She'd probably quit now.

"No…it's fine." Pepper said soothingly. "Can we…let you out?"

He nodded, slowly standing.

Pepper unlocked the door. Bruce walked out of the chamber, stumbling over to his desk. He sat down, dropping his head into his hands. He was so damn tired.

"What happened?" asked Pepper.

He sighed and gestured to the table, where soup was dripping on the floor.

"Yes, I know all about that, Alice told me. What I mean is, why did it upset you so much?" She pulled a chair beside him and put her hand over his clenched one. Her skin felt cool. "Are you okay now?"

"Yes, it's under control."

Thor visibly relaxed.

"And to answer your previous question, I have no idea why I got angry. I used to fly off the handle for stuff like this at the beginning, but I've gotten myself in check lately." He looked over to Thor. "I see you brought back-up."

"Were these important?" Pepper waved off the comment, and gestured to the ruined notebooks on the table.

"It was all the work I've done for the past few weeks, all my research and notes from Indonesia." He admitted. "Now, I'll have to recopy all the notes. It's going to set me back at least a week."

He sighed again, cradling his head in his hands, suddenly exhausted.

"Well, don't worry about that," said Pepper. "Alice is going to come in tomorrow and recopy them for you. She'll come back every day until it's done."

So, she didn't quit immediately. That was almost impressive. Or incredibly stupid.

"That's really not necessary," said Bruce. It wasn't. She'd probably take forever. It wasn't like he could do anything else until the notes were finished anyway.

"It is, and she's doing it," said Pepper firmly. "She's competent. She has lots of experience in copying and transcription. She'll be here tomorrow morning, put her to work."

Bruce nodded. There really was no arguing with Pepper when she made up her mind. He rose, and shut down his computer and stood up, turning to walk to the table to clean up the mess.

"Banner, go rest," said Thor. "Keeping the green one at bay appears exhausting."

"He's right. Go, Bruce. I'll tidy this up," offered Pepper.

Bruce turned to leave, too tired to argue. He didn't remember walking to the elevator, or riding it up to his apartment, all he remembered was collapsing on the couch. He was asleep as soon as he laid down.

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter, first one with Bruce. :) Like I stated in my last chapter, this fic is mostly MovieVerse, with a smattering of ComicVerse thrown in for good measure and to keep it interesting. XD**

I don't own any of the Marvel Universe, I do own Alice, Zeke, Jules and Thomas, though. :)

**Follow/Favorite/Review if you feel so inclined. I try to respond to every review, because I'm flattered that you took the time to say something.**


End file.
